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Niagara University student club wins national award

LEWISTON – Niagara University’s student chapter of the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) was recently named the organization’s Student Chapter of the Year for the seventh consecutive year while attending the 89th World Conference on Club Management in San Diego.

NU’s student organization was selected among 55 other chapters in the nation based on a series of factors, including the number and variety of educational programs offered, member employment and internships in clubs, membership growth, its relationship with the state chapter of CMAA, and member attendance at events.

Additionally, the NU student chapter won 2 of the 5 possible Club of the Future competition first-place awards, winning in the Membership Classifications and Club Concepts categories.

Niagara students Amanda Tidwell and Julie Fewer also were recognized as recipients of the Joe Perdue Scholarship, the organization’s most prestigious and competitive student scholarship. Only 5 such scholarships were awarded for the 2015-16 academic year, with two going to NU students and this was Tidwell’s second consecutive such award.

Niagara’s CMAA student chapter was established in 2006. Students are required to complete a rigorous schedule of educational and networking events, and work at a club each summer between academic semesters.

Dr. William D. Frye, associate professor of hospitality and tourism management and student chapter adviser, noted that these requirements, in addition to the chapter’s significant membership growth and internship placements with top-rated clubs, helped the chapter win the title again this year.

“Our students are held to the same expectations and standards of private club managers who are currently working in the profession,” Frye said. “This seventh consecutive award reaffirms the industry’s viewpoint that the Niagara University student chapter meets and excels at those standards and is the hallmark of excellence in education and professional development for club management students. For these reasons, club managers purposely seek out Niagara University graduates to fill the management ranks at their respective clubs.”

The CMAA is the professional association for managers of membership clubs. With nearly 6,500 members across all classifications, its manager members run more than 2,500 country, golf, city, athletic, faculty, yacht, town and military clubs.

The objectives of the association are to: promote and advance friendly relations among persons connected with the management of clubs; to encourage the education and advancement of its members; and to assist club officers and members in creating the most efficient and successful operations.

To learn more about NU’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, call 286-8279 or visit: www.niagara.edu/hospitality.